7368posts
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We Are Strategic Command with Sarah Wallace
Sarah Wallace, Climate and Sustainability Lead, discusses the role of climate-conscious practices in Defence operations. Interviewer: Can you introduce yourself and your role at Strategic Command? Sarah Wallace: I'm Sarah Wallace, and I lead the climate change and sustainability team …
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Celebrating the power of grant making
One month on and Penny Horner-Long chooses highlights from the first ever Government Grants conference and awards
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The FSA takes time for British Science Week
There is no question that what and how we eat has evolved dramatically over time - I’m sure I’m not alone in eating a diet that is radically different to the one my parents or grandparents ate. This is partly about cultural and societal changes, but also owes a lot to science and the technological changes that have transformed the food system over recent decades.
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Med Tech Regulatory Reform: Webinars, Trusted Advisors and Heading to Washington
Welcome to the March issue of the Med Tech Regulatory Reform blog series. As the leader of a team which includes many talented female scientists, I am particularly delighted to be publishing this at the start of British Science …
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International Women’s Day: Inspire Inclusion
International Women’s Day: Inspire Inclusion It’s International Women’s Day and Mandy Budwal-Jagait, Head of our Good Clinical Practice (GCP), team discusses why it’s important for us to Inspire Inclusion in the workplace. Trust, representation, opportunity, understanding, belonging. These are just …
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60 years to a Chief Government Scientific Adviser: Leadership challenges for women in science
As part of our work to celebrate the United Nations “International Day of Women and Girls in Science”, the GSE’s Women’s Working Group organised a special panel event looking into the leadership challenges women face in science. The event was …
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Breaking Gender Stereotypes: A Personal Reflection
This International Women’s Day, I wanted to reflect on the power of role models to increase inclusion and inspire change in the workplace. When he was five, my son asked me if men were ever allowed to be doctors. His …
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Meet the women in our criminal courts
To mark International Women’s Day 2024, we caught up with some of our female colleagues to find out more about their role, what it means for justice and their advice for other women looking at a career within the system.
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Webinar follow up: the offer for arable and horticulture growers
On Thursday 29 February, we held a webinar for arable and field horticulture growers in England. In this post, I’ll share the recording and summarise the themes that emerged in the questions and I’ll set out the best ways for you to get answers.
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The UK’s charitable spirit must be nurtured
Orlando Fraser KC talks about the new guidance published by the Charity Commission to help trustees when making decisions on accepting donations.
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The Government Actuary - how to #InspireInclusion
The theme of this year’s International Women's Day (IWD) is #InspireInclusion. To mark IWD on 8 March, Fiona Dunsire, the Government Actuary, has been reflecting on what this means in her current role and in her career.
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International Women's Day: From Farmer to Field Officer
On International Women’s Day, RPA Field Officer Donna Sweetmore, who is one of a 127 strong team of RPA Field Officers making more than 6,500 site visits a year, talks about her role, her background in agriculture and the visibility …
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Building an Ambitious Civil Service
A Modern Civil Service is our vision of a skilled, innovative and ambitious organisation equipped for the future. We've discussed what we mean by skilled and innovative, but what does ‘building an Ambitious Civil Service’ mean? Almost everyone has heard …
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International Women’s Day 2024
To celebrate International Women’s Day 2024, on Friday 8 March, we decided to catch up with Sadia Shorif, a Science and Technology intern and learn more about why she chose a career in the Civil Service with a STEM …
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Inspiring inclusion at DWP Digital this International Women's Day
Head of User Support Services, Sue Griffin reflects on our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion and how we are creating inclusive communities.
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Climbing the career ladder
June Smith is the Learning and Capability Lead in the Benefits and Credits Operations team – part of HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) Customer Services Group.
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#InspireInclusion - Women in Science at the FSA
This year, International Women’s Day falls on the start of British Science Week, so it seemed only right to focus our blog this year on how to #InspireInclusion for our Women in Science.
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Environment Agency monitoring of the South West's largest abstractor
Mark Pilcher, Land and Water team leader in West Cornwall, talks about our demanding work to inspect one of the largest abstractors of water in the south-west. The Environment Agency (EA) is responsible for regulating water in England - its …
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International Women’s Day 2024: inspiring inclusion
In celebration of International Women's Day 2024, 4 colleagues working in digital roles share their perspectives on this year’s theme ‘Inspiring Inclusion’. Join us as we delve into their thoughts and experiences, shedding light on the power of inclusivity in shaping a better workplace.
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International Women’s Day - my career journey into Defra
On International Women’s Day, Angela Marriott shares her career story, which began on a Youth Training Scheme at a plastics company, and which has brought her to a senior role in our Service Management Office.
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Dragons’ Den IP Blog - Series 21 Episode 10
It’s hard to believe that we are already on Episode 10 of Season 21 of Dragons’ Den. This series certainly hasn’t disappointed with its impressive display of intellectual property, and this episode is no different.
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Improving biodiversity and tackling poverty: new international research grant competition launches
In this blog, Caroline Bolhoven, head of International Sustainable Land Use at Defra, tells us how Defra are improving biodiversity and tackling poverty through a new international research grant competition.
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Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard: Getting ready for adoption at scale
Today, the Responsible Tech Adoption Unit (RTA) in DSIT and the CDDO (Central Digital and Data Office) are launching updated products to better support public sector organisations in using the Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard (ATRS). This includes a new gov.uk …
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Building Partnerships for Nature’s Recovery in the North
By David Renwick, Regional Director for the North at Natural England Last week saw a momentous week for nature across the north with the second annual Nature North conference in Newcastle and the Convention of the North in Leeds. As …
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Mickey’s adventure into the public domain
This year Disney is celebrating its 100th anniversary but did you know that the original version of one of Disney’s most iconic and popular characters, Mickey Mouse, has recently been released from its copyright worldwide?
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Spotlight on talent development: Meet Fast Streamer Gianmarco Zenzola
In the latest of our personal stories from colleagues who are on a talent development programme here in Defra, we meet Fast Streamer Gianmarco Zenzola.
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Windrush Schemes Factsheet – January 2024
We are determined to put right the terrible injustices faced by some people from the Windrush generation and the wider Commonwealth, which happened under successive governments. The Windrush Scheme ensures members of the Windrush generation can get the documentation they need to …
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Natural England wildlife licensing statistics for 2023
Many wild animals and plants are protected by legislation such as the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017. As nature conservation adviser and regulator, one of Natural England’s roles is to licence …
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British Forces Gibraltar Hold Another Successful International Women's Day Event
On Wednesday 6 March, British Forces Gibraltar (BF Gib) held another very successful International Women’s Day Event in Devil’s Tower Camp. The event which spanned over two hours, was opened by Commander British Forces Gibraltar, Commodore Tom Guy who thanked …
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Conservation in action at Portsmouth Harbour
I work as DIO’s ecologist for the South East region, spanning from Hampshire all the way over to Kent and up to London and Oxford. One of the highlights of my role is getting out on the MOD estate and …
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GDP officers pass Maritime exams
Twelve Gibraltar Defence Police Marine Section Coxswains are celebrating after achieving a number of maritime qualifications this week. During a ceremony held at the GDP Marine Section on Monday (4 March), Commander of British Forces Commodore Tom Guy handed …
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What to expect from an inspection - a Food Safety Officer tells us
We spoke to Lucy, a Food Safety Officer from Bath and North East Somerset Council to find out what food businesses can expect from a local authority inspection.
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A partial penumbral lunar eclipse and the Pons-Brooks comet: the UK night sky in March 2024
The night's sky in March is set to display some of the most distinctive phenomena in the cosmos, from a partial penumbral lunar eclipse to an appearance from the fickle Pons-Brooks comet.
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Careers in Forestry: Mark's story
This National Careers Week, Mark West from the Green Task Force looks back at his career so far, and how he made the change from 12 years in uniformed service to working in forestry and conservation.
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Response to Birmingham City Council coverage
There has been widespread coverage ahead of the Birmingham City Council budget meeting today, which is expected to approve cuts to local services today to save £300m. There are numerous pieces of coverage with the story running on BBC Radio …
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How challenge-driven innovation is helping Defence identify and solve problems
A guest blog by Stuart Laws, Portfolio and Outreach Assistant Head, Defence Innovation Unit. Innovation is the lifeblood of change, but how can it be harnessed effectively within government departments? In this blog post, we'll explore the concept of challenge-driven …
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Secondments - a great way to enable new skills into defence
A modern, singular Digital Backbone is critical to secure our transition to a digital future and a key part of this is Our People. We need a unified workforce with the necessary digital skills and capabilities to effectively deliver and …
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How we’re designing a bilingual service for Wales, from the start
In this post Abbie shares how their team is focusing on Welsh users throughout the design process, to design a bilingual service that really works for users.
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Securing off-site Biodiversity Net Gain: Expert legal perspectives
In our third Natural England instructional Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) guest blog, legal professionals offer helpful insights into securing off-site Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG). Our guest bloggers are: Penny Simpson, Partner at Freeths Grace Pinault, Associate at Dentons David Short, …
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Response to Guardian article on levelling up
The Guardian's article published online and p10 today (Monday, 4 March 2024) claims that less than 20% of levelling up projects have completed in England. This is inaccurate as it only focuses on one strand of funding from the …